Foxconn Robots Proving Unsuitable for iPhone Assembly, Updated Versions in the Works

[ActionableMango]

If I were Emperor of the USA, I would say that if a company sells 50% of their goods in the USA, at least 50% of the goods must be manufactured in the USA. If not, 75% tariff on 100% of goods sold in the USA. Take America back!!!!!!!

You're a very short-sighted Emperor who is ignorant of the inevitable retaliation that occurs when you implement protectionism.

Doing what you suggest, economic protectionism, leads to trade wars and hurts more than it helps. Basically, you'd create a bunch of menial, low-wage jobs in America and take those away from China. Sounds, great, right? Well, sorta great because they are low-quality jobs. But hey, that's better than no jobs, right?

But then China gets pissed about this, because low-wage menial manufacturing jobs are the main thing they are competitive with on the world stage, so they inevitably retaliate. First off they'll switch from buying Boeing planes to buying Airbus planes. Asia and China in particular is one of the largest growth markets for the airline industry, so this is super bad. Boeing has to lay off thousands of people. Congratulations, you've traded high-wage, high-quality American Boeing jobs across several states for low-wage menial manufacturing jobs.

So then the US gets pissed and, I dunno, puts a huge tariff on imported memory chips (something we've actually done in the past), because that also hurts China and it protects US chip manufacturing. But since most memory chips aren't made in the USA, there isn't enough supply so most chips are still imported, just at higher cost, and now all computers, tablets, smart phones, etc. cost an extra $100.

So Japan gets pissed at the chip tariff and counteracts by slapping a tariff on American apples, cherries, and potatoes. Now Washington and Idaho farmers are really hurting too. But good thing you've got those ultra crappy menial jobs assembling iPhones like robots in the USA, jobs that Americans don't even like to take in the first place, which is why immigrants almost always fill the ranks of produce pickers, meat processing plants, and the like.

I could go on and on. This isn't theoretical. This is exactly what happens.

If *I* were Emperor I would encourage American competitiveness for high-wage, high-quality jobs by further supporting education, promising start-ups, high-tech business, and advanced sciences.

 

[ebouwman]

They should be perfect for Samsung then.

It's funny because it's true.

 

[meetajhu]

No scott forstall that's why everything failing.

 

[lederermc]

They need to have the foxbot make better robots which have more accuracy. Then iterate until their offspring can make iPhones. Didn't Darwin figure this out 150 years ago?

 

[iKrivetko]

So that's why my 6 Plus scratches my finger.

----------

If I were Emperor of the USA, I would say that if a company sells 50% of their goods in the USA, at least 50% of the goods must be manufactured in the USA. If not, 75% tariff on 100% of goods sold in the USA. Take America back!!!!!!!

That is extremely idiotic, even by the standards of american politics.

 

[nostresshere]

Please tell me this comment was a joke.

One would hope so.

But, the American masses often have no sense of reality and love to mouth off about what they would do, without thinking it through. Reality is a foreign word to so many of my fellow citizens.

Sad.

Very sad.

 

[winston1236]

Chinese (humans) are cheaper than robots — fact.

Not so much, used to be though. As we see with China becoming the worlds largest economy yesterday their pay will continue to rise and become more expensive. No worries though, still plenty of poor throughout the world willing to assemble your phone.

 

[bpeeps]

I'd vote for you for Emperor! I wouldn't mind if these multinational large corporations are subject to this. Then again, they would always find some loop hole.

The loophole being, your $199 phone on a two year contract now costs $399 and over $1000 for the unlocked version. Greed is what sent the jobs to China.

 

[winston1236]

You're a very short-sighted Emperor who is ignorant of the inevitable retaliation that occurs when you implement protectionism.

Doing what you suggest, economic protectionism, leads to trade wars and hurts more than it helps. Basically, you'd create a bunch of menial, low-wage jobs in America and take those away from China. Sounds, great, right? Well, sorta great because they are low-quality jobs. But hey, that's better than no jobs, right?

But then China gets pissed about this, because low-wage menial manufacturing jobs are the main thing they are competitive with on the world stage, so they inevitably retaliate. First off they'll switch from buying Boeing planes to buying Airbus planes. Asia and China in particular is one of the largest growth markets for the airline industry, so this is super bad. Boeing has to lay off thousands of people. Congratulations, you've traded high-wage, high-quality American Boeing jobs across several states for low-wage menial manufacturing jobs.

So then the US gets pissed and, I dunno, puts a huge tariff on imported memory chips (something we've actually done in the past), because that also hurts China and it protects US chip manufacturing. But since most memory chips aren't made in the USA, there isn't enough supply so most chips are still imported, just at higher cost, and now all computers, tablets, smart phones, etc. cost an extra $100.

So Japan gets pissed at the chip tariff and counteracts by slapping a tariff on American apples, cherries, and potatoes. Now Washington and Idaho farmers are really hurting too. But good thing you've got those ultra crappy menial jobs assembling iPhones like robots in the USA, jobs that Americans don't even like to take in the first place, which is why immigrants almost always fill the ranks of produce pickers, meat processing plants, and the like.

I could go on and on. This isn't theoretical. This is exactly what happens.

If *I* were Emperor I would encourage American competitiveness for high-wage, high-quality jobs by further supporting education, promising start-ups, high-tech business, and advanced sciences.

Further supporting education? What support is there now? High interest rate student loans?

 

[nostresshere]

...This is an area where government should be involved: Setting and enforcing acceptable ground rules to keep the game clean and working to the benefit of society as a whole.

Yea, our government would be so great at telling businesses how to operate, grow and stay alive.

Yea, that would work.


ROFLMAO

 

[classicool09]

No thanks...I'll hang on to my increased standard of living.

I said this a while ago. Sadly, a life in China isn't the same the world over. A 16 year old girl is always going to do this job cheaper in China.

If I were Emperor of the USA, I would say that if a company sells 50% of their goods in the USA, at least 50% of the goods must be manufactured in the USA. If not, 75% tariff on 100% of goods sold in the USA. Take America back!!!!!!!

 

[Mad Mac]

You're a very short-sighted Emperor who is ignorant of the inevitable retaliation that occurs when you implement protectionism.

I could go on and on. This isn't theoretical. This is exactly what happens.

You realize that MOST countries have protectionism in place?

China, Japan, Germany, etc. all have big tariffs on American products. You are either in a trade surplus or deficit. America is in a deficit and that's not good. It's only good for short term, cheap products but bad for a country and it's citizens in the long run. So enjoy your $20 DVD player. You'll pay for it ten-fold later in life.

Not everybody can be a CEO, director, doctor, lawyer, etc. There has to be a strong manufacturing base in a country and there needs to be jobs up and down the hierarchy. Manufacturing is part of that hierarchy.

And retaliation? Not likely. America is still the biggest market as far as consumers go. Not for long though if jobs keep getting offshored. The generation that is currently in college will find that out soon enough.

 

[Apple Corps]

I said this a while ago. Sadly, a life in China isn't the same the world over. A 16 year old girl is always going to do this job cheaper in China.

If I were Emperor of the USA, I would say that if a company sells 50% of their goods in the USA, at least 50% of the goods must be manufactured in the USA. If not, 75% tariff on 100% of goods sold in the USA. Take America back!!!!!!!

That is why you will never be the Emperor of the USA. BTW - how well did your philosophy work out for a USA supplier providing sapphire screens?????

 

[ttran88]

but... does it blend?

 

[brianvictor7]

This is very interesting in that it sounds like it is only a matter of years, say less than a decade, before they believe they may be able to replace the people. Very, very interesting and scary and marvelous and just wow all at once.

 

[sailmac]

iChair

Hold on a moment -- why is this Foxbot operating upon a chair instead of an electronic device? Are the machines that clumsy?!?

Oh, maybe that's just some silly robot and she's the Foxbot!

 

[CrazyForApple]

Apple should just make the robots

 

[Rocketman]

Hard to believe robotics are cheaper than China's slave wages. Maybe the execs just now figured that out when they heard that China just bested the U.S. and is now the #1 economy on the planet.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As long as they keep their minions from jumping out windows...

I think the real problem is even in China hiring 100,000 additional qualified workers is bumping into some sort of barrier, geographic, housing, transportation, whatever. What if Apple were to start a program to actually release a phone the next tier down in market could actually afford? Who is going to make 3x the phones Apple is already making, but with nearly the complexity and quality of an iPhone 6?

Not Californians!

The short term solution is to further increase prices to somewhat moderate demand! I am fully expecting to pay $100 more for my iPhone 6S+ than you paid for your iPhone 6+, which was $100 more than a iPhone 5S.

I agree with every poster here it better have 2GB+ of memory!

Rocketman

 

[iososx]

I knew with certainty that BendGate was real. Apple's carefully rehearsed demonstration to disprove it was highly suspicious yet they had to create some story to tell. This article reveals more truth than the average Apple believer cares to admit.

Remember Apple is perfect don't cha know...LOL

 

[krravi]

They should be perfect for Samsung then.

Which means it would be perfect for Apple products as well as Apple uses a lot of Samsung components assembled/fabricated by robots!

 

[tongxinshe]

I said this a while ago. Sadly, a life in China isn't the same the world over. A 16 year old girl is always going to do this job cheaper in China.

If I were Emperor of the USA, I would say that if a company sells 50% of their goods in the USA, at least 50% of the goods must be manufactured in the USA. If not, 75% tariff on 100% of goods sold in the USA. Take America back!!!!!!!

That's right, all countries should build up stronger barriers against international business cooperations.

Oh, oh, oh, no, we are the only one should have received benefits of the cooperations, let's build up a strong barrier but use our military force to crush all other countries' barriers, that's the most desirable result!

 

[yaxomoxay]

There's only one solution

 

[StyxMaker]

What are the chances Apple and Foxcon made imprecise robots and they just found out about it? They have loose joints that make them flop around? They weren't tested, just put on the line?

More likely FoxCon employees sabotage the robots so they can keep their jobs.

 

[Arran]

Yea, our government would be so great at telling businesses how to operate, grow and stay alive.

Yea, that would work.


ROFLMAO

Yeah, but while you're wasting time rolling on the floor laughing, other countries with functioning governments ARE able to regulate.

I do agree with you that any government is ill equipped to tell businesses how to "operate, grow and stay alive" as you put it. No argument there.

Government's job is to referee, not to coach and certainly not to play the game.

 

[Thunderhawks]

"foxbots"........ Anyone else hear something different in their heads? :d

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